by Susan Michalowski
Its funny how your perspective changes living with someone who is dependant on a wheelchair to get around. You learn to see things from a different level. Not figuratively but actually at a different level. The person sits lower than the person standing and has to always look upto speak to someone. Very few people will stand in a good position, that they can be face to face. Most people tend to stand at someone's side. Can you wheel up to an oven or refrigerator? Is your kitchen or restaurant table the right height to eat at? Think of when you were having children and setting up a baby's room. Everything was low down, at the level of a toddler, all the visual attractions as pictures and murals were low down, easy for the baby to see. Newborns have hanging mobiles and toys around the edges of their crib to accommodate for the positions they spend most of their time in. Classrooms are set up thatway. All materials that the children need are at a level easily accessible.
Real life for the physically handicapped is not as easily adaptable. Renovations are really expensive and cannot always be done if a person rents their home. Access-a- Ride is a great way to get around but not for all. They only do curb pickup. Suppose you live in a home with five steps! You need an ambulette with capable drivers that know how to lift a wheelchair. Just the other day, and not for the first time either, my son arrived home by ambulette after an appointment and the driver refused to take him up the steps. What to do then was a big dilemma. My son can't walk and as an adult he's much too big to carry. How can someone like him go out for a haircut, or to a movie. Ambulettes don't transport for pleasure trips or even necessary journeys other than medical appointments. Not everyone can move to a first floor house. There are also cases where the duration of time for a wheel chair is temporary. Do you stay house bound during that time or move? Then there is the issue of bathrooms in restaurants, theaters etc. Many say they are easily accessible. Once you get there the doorway to get in the bathroom itself is wide enough for a wheelchair but the door to the stall isn't and there are no grab bars. Or the sink may be in a corner that you can't get to. Is it planned that way? No, its just not good planning. People have to view things from a chair to actually see what can be reached and what cannot be. The ADA has made thing easier but there is still so much more to be done. Everyone faces challenges and limits in their lives. The handicapped face enough challenges without having to fight man made barriers too. Not just those in wheelchairs but those without arms that work or those that can't see. There are those with walkers who need more time to cross a street or get into awaiting elevator. Something as simple as opening a door can be a monumental task. Hopefully if we all look around, through the eyes of a physically challenged person the world can be made an easier place to navigate.